4 Sale: Parts, Instruments, and Materials

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We are always interested in purchasing vintage US made American Standard, AlCoA and other basses in need of restoration, or models we can use for parts.

Wanted: Original circa 1960-’66 Ampeg Gemini 1, Reverberocket, and Portaflex (fliptops!), blackface and tweed Fender amps. Also interested in Tel Ray era oilcan amps like the Supernova and the Chrome 70s oilcan Tel Ray and Morley pedals. Gotta beat up old National Duolian you wanna part with?

Currently Available:

1954 American Standard

A beautiful rootbeer color with the perfect patina- not too pretty and not thrashed. This one is on the workbench as we speak for a complete overhaul inside and out. It has that HUGE deep voice that these basses are known for and has undergone a complete neck rebuild including shortening the scale from the giant factory 43 3/8″ to a very fast and comfortable 41 1/2″ for one of the best playing and sounding American Standards you’ll get to play. No scroll breaks or heel repairs, with hidden carbon fiber beams added to reinforce the main neck beam and the heel. These are getting harder to find as the years pass and the demand continues to rise, as they are the benchmark of vintage US plywood basses. Act fast before we decide to keep it here! $4200.

1940 Kay

Light brown color, gamba corners, complete top and neck rebuild here, an all around great example of a very desirable pre-war Kay in excellent playing and cosmetic condition. $3400, cash and local discount available.

Every upright bass player I know wants one of these: A rare find with possibly the cleanest, dent free body we have ever seen. The body has been stripped and polished to a blinding high shine with a full custom workup. This bass is one of the finest custom examples we have ever done or seen; a one of a kind collector grade item. We’re open to trades and partial trades for similar value vintage items- get creative and lets see what you have. Click here to see the full ad on reverb.

1945 Kay 3/4 original rootbeer sunburst with just the right amount of honest playing mojo. The postwar Kays are our personal favorites. This is one of our shop “superkays” that has been completely rebuilt inside and out, re-arched top on our shop specialty molds, red spruce belly patch, new neck and tail block, new professional grade custom removable neck built to a beautiful 100+ year old German bass specs with oversize neck mortice (not the factory spec little dovetail), carbon fiber inserts, full scroll graft, beautiful thick “spiderweb” Brazilian rosewood fingerboard and tailpiece, magnetic access port, new Despiau bridge and full setup. Ready to go on tour anywhere in the world- this is the vintage Kay you always wished you owned. It can be shipped anywhere or it will fit in the trunk or passenger seat of a small rental car. This is a fantastic playing and sounding bass for the traveling professional. The total restoration and custom work added up to almost $7000 and set a new standard for all of our future shop builds. For sale at $4200 with a local pickup.

Vintage American Standard bass back and tops. We have several vintage tops, backs, and parts available; $450-700. Call for more info.

Late 1930s sunburst Pfretzschner aluminum bass, roundback 3/4. Very clean original condition with a rare factory original sunburst finish. SOLD in record time!!!!

Mid 30s Pfretzschner 3/4 flatback aluminum bass. Beyond cool, obscure, coveted, and offered a very reasonable price. This one is pretty clean and dent free. sold

1952 Kay C-1: Another nice factory spec rootbeer sunburst C1. Sold and currently gigging throughout the midwest.

1952 Kay M1 back! Excellent condition with beautiful curly maple outside layers. I don’t know who was the source, but the maple that they used from approx. 1951-1953 for old Kays is some of the finest and highly figured they ever used. Ready for your restoration or rebuild. Original label included on inside. Cherry cola sunburst, ready to glue on with no issues. sold.

Early ’60s Kay C1 : Rootbeer sunburst body serial # 45207, 3/4 size M1 in good condition. No neck issues, or breaks. The fingerboard has been removed, carbon fiber beams installed hidden inside the neck, and the fingerboard was glued back along with a 1/4″ ebony shim to get it up to a very comfortable thickness. We do a lot of these style neck rebuilds and the results are always fantastic. Spirocores, new Despiau bridge; a great old Kay with outstanding setup and playability. This is an awesome old Kay- the number one go to bass for gigs and jam sessions in the shop. $3000. SOLD!

Blonde 1939 Kay C1: Serial number 4195, January 1939. Sold !

Vintage Kay Brazilian rosewood tailpieces: ‘Always buying and selling nice examples of these; we usually have several original Kay tailpieces in stock. We also offer very accurate reproductions and modern tailpiece interpretations- see our gallery images. Please call for prices and models available.

Wanted: Original Epiphone bass tailpiece with the brass logo badge intact. Sunburst or natural is ok. We’ve made a number of very accurate reproductions of these (see gallery images) in the past, but are on the hunt for a nice one to be able to clone the badge for a couple of people in need.

Vintage Kay partial necks: The most common place for neck issues on old Kays is broken or badly damaged heels. We rebuild necks all of the time and regularly do full scroll grafts to keep the vintage look and mojo but add it to a properly sized and structural strength new neck. We’ve got a good supply of these partial necks and full scrolls from every era for your restoration needs.

mid 1940s Pfretschner aluminum bass: 3/4 flatback. SOLD!

Early 1930s AlCOA Aluminum bass: 3/4, unrestored . Original faux wood grain finish in good shape. Located in the Toronto area. SOLD!We’re looking for an AlCoA in need of major restoration for a project here and are always interested in damaged basses for restoration parts. Trades and offers are welcome.